Ukraine's representative to the European Union, Ambassador Kostiantyn Yeliseyev, has said he is concerned about the absence in the new Ukrainian government of a high representative, who would be responsible for the European integration of the country.

In the context of Leonid Kozhara's appointment as Ukraine's foreign minister, Yeliseyev said he hoped that that the foreign minister would make his first visit to Brussels at the beginning of this year.

In an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine, while speaking about Brussels' reaction to this appointment, the diplomat said that "the new minister is not new to the European establishment."

"He is well known in European circles. The minister's visit to Brussels is currently being prepared, and I hope that it will be made at the beginning of this year," Yeliseyev said.

He said that Kozhara's appointment as foreign minister had been praised by European institutions.

"The EU leadership has expressed its readiness for fruitful and constructive dialog. A sign of this was a confidential phone conversation between the minister and Commissioner Stefan Fule on December 28," the diplomat said.

However, he expressed concern that there was no high representative in the new government, who would ensure the coordination of the country's EU integration course, as it was done by the previous first deputy prime ministers [Andriy Kliuyev and Valeriy Khoroshkovsky].

"I hope that this aspect will be taken into account in the near future, as European integration has not only a foreign policy aspect, but also involves major domestic reforms, broad sectoral cooperation and the coordination of the activity of all ministries and departments on ensuring the implementation of the action plan on visa liberalization and the association agenda," Yeliseyev said.